Solitary Confinement
by BabyBird101
Summary: North was reading in his studies when he come across a book about solitary confinement. Those who have been alone to long may not be quite whole. The new guardian may now be entirely whole. And he probably never will be K plus for darker/sadder themes


Santa Claus was bored. Nicholas North wandered around his library wondering what he would do.

It was early February and he had nothing to work on. The yetis were mostly getting well needed breaks or cleaning up messes. They tried not to start serious work for next Christmas until after valentines day.

North hated it. He always found himself lost in his library or wandering around by the reindeer. There was never anything to do.

Sighing in exasperation he walked to the back of his library and blew hard on the dusty books. Walking down the ancient shelves he saw a brand new shining book. Maybe one of the yeti's had picked it out for him. But they couldn't have. It did have a small layer of dust. It looked about a month old.

Had someone given it to him for Christmas? He was so unused to getting presents that the idea seemed a bit ridiculous. But he pulled it from the shelf and sat in his chair preparing to read it.

The outside cover was a simple blue with plastic. As he pulled the front open he found a note.

To North

I knew you would be interested in reading this. I'm guessing the yetis won't give this to you when I hand it to them. They don't listen to me anyway. Happy reading

-Jack

It was written in cheep pen ink on a collage ruled paper. Astonishingly the handwriting was grand and well practiced.

He flipped open to the next pages and in large capital letters it said...

STUDIES OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.

"Oi," North rubbed his head. "This is going to be boring one. But no one can say I didn't try it."

The first few chapters were on the history and he flipped through those with absolute boredom. And he continued to do so until he reached the third chapter. It was bookmarked with a scrap of paper like someone had read this before him.

The chapter was headed

MENTAL PROBLEMS LINKED?

Intrigued he began reading,

Mental instability has been linked to solitary confinement since as far back as the 1860s. Prison records from the Denmark institute during 1870-1920 illustrate that staff noticed inmates were exhibiting signs of mental illnesses while in isolation, revealing that this persistent problem has been around for decades.

"Decades?" North mouthed. He had never heard of this.

The practice is used when a prisoner is considered dangerous to oneself or to others, is suspected of organizing or being engaged in illegal activities outside of the prison, or, in the case of a prisoner such as a pedophile or witness, is at a high risk of being harmed by another inmate or inmates. Solitary confinement is also the norm in Supermax prisons where prisoners who are deemed dangerous or of high risk are held.

Day after day 23 hours behind a solid steel door, with limited to no human contact, phone calls are infrequent and family visits, especially non-contact visits, are even rarer, in addition to inadequate medical and mental health treatment. Because solitary confinement means being in the cell for 23 hours a day, rehabilitation and educational program privileges are revoked.

Prisoners who are put into Solitary Confinement often suffer mentally as a result of sensory deprivations, permanent bright lighting, extreme temperature of hot and cold, and forced insomnia.

United States, often for days, weeks, months, or even years in order to punish, protect, house, or treat some of the youth held there.

"Youth?" North was alarmed. From what he had read so far it was dangerous for fully grown men and women but children?

The effects of solitary confinement on juveniles can be highly detrimental to their growth. The isolation of solitary confinement can cause anguish, provoke serious mental and physical health problems, and work against rehabilitation for juveniles. Because young people are still developing, traumatic experiences like solitary confinement may have a profound effect on their chance to rehabilitate and grow. Solitary confinement can worsen both short- and long-term psychological and physical problems or make it more likely that such problems will develop.

The rest of the chapter was grisly accounts of people who studied the children who suffered from this. Heart aching North turned to the next chapter

SYMPTOMS OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

Common effects of solitary confinement include increased

-changes in perception

-as well as cognitive problems including memory loss

-difficulty thinking

-impulsiveness.

North thought for a moment. Why would Jack give this to him? North strove for goodness and wonder but this was dark and terrible.

Was he trying to point something out?

Bunny was alone often but he was smart and cognitive. Tooth? No she was to chipper and she had all those fairies. Sandy? Impossible.

Did any of these things apply to him? North thought about his life. None of these symptoms applied.

Shaking his head he continued.

These effects may together constitute a unique syndrome, sometimes called "SHU syndrome". Others term it "Social-Sensory Deprivation Syndrome".[33] Grassian's

Craig Haney built upon Grassian's findings and found the following symptoms present among inmates housed in SHUs:

-anxiety

-headaches

-chronic tiredness

-trouble sleeping

-impending nervous breakdown

-perspiring hands

-loss of appetite

-trembling hands

-nightmares

The last one sent North sitting straight up. What was the conversation he and Jack had had the day before?

Jack had flown into the pole and sat down in one of the largest arm chairs before North had found him. The child had a troubled expression on his face and he lay there.

Scared for the boy's safety North had woken him.

"Jack?" North said quietly.

He had jumped up and stared around wide eyed for a moment. "Oh..." He smiled tremulously, "it's just you North."

"Who were you expecting?" North laughed. "Pitch?" Jack looked down at his exposed toes and frowned. "Frost what is wrong?"

"Nothing," Jack sat down and pulled his legs closer to his chest. "I've just been tired a lot. And when I do manage to get any sleep I have... nightmares."

"Do you think Pitch might be trying to come back?"

Jack shook his head, then rubbed his temples. "It's me..." He looked up at north and spoke his next words with difficulty. "I keep getting these stupid headaches and I'm never hungry."

North smiled comfortingly, "this is nothing new child you're simply sick. I would ay just a simple cold."

"But north-" jack protested.

"It's fine, it will go away."

"It's different!"

"You'll be fine frost," North had chuckled as he walked away.

Now he looked back on that scene with disgust. He hadn't even been concerned and Jack might have been suffering form something much worse than just a 'simple cold.' Feeling sick to his own stomache he continued reading

TORTURE

Solitary confinement is considered to be a form of psychological torture when the period of confinement is longer than a few weeks or is continued indefinitely.

Misuse of solitary confinement has been widely controversial. In immigration detention centers, reports have surfaced concerning its use against detainees in order to keep those knowledgeable about their rights away from other detainees.

North couldn't swallow

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT 'RUINING?'

Numerous studies have documented the effects of solitary confinement on prisoners giving them the name Special Housing Unit Syndrome or SHU Syndrome. Some of the many SHU Syndrome symptoms include:

-Hypersensitivity to noise and touch

-Insomnia and paranoia

-Uncontrollable feelings of rage and fear

-PTSD

Flipping to the back of the book he looked in the index for PTSD. Finding the right page he opened to it.

Symptoms of PTSD may disrupt your life and make it hard to continue with your daily activities. You may find it hard just to get through the day.

There are four types of PTSD symptoms:

1- Reliving the event (also called re-experiencing symptoms)

Memories of the traumatic event can come back at any time. You may feel the same fear and horror you did when the event took place. For example:

-nightmares.

-feeling like you are going through the event again. This is called a flashback.

-seeing, hearing, or smelling something that causes you to relive the event. This is called a trigger. News reports, seeing an accident, or hearing a car backfire are examples of triggers.

2- Avoiding situations that remind you of the event

You may try to avoid situations or people that trigger memories of the traumatic event. You may even avoid talking or thinking about the event. For example:

-avoiding crowds, because they feel dangerous.

-keeping very busy or avoid seeking help because it keeps you from having to think or talk about the event.

-negative changes in beliefs and feelings

North sighed. How could he have been so blind?

The way you think about yourself and others changes because of the trauma. This symptom has many aspects, including the following:

You may not have positive or loving feelings toward other people and may stay away from relationships.

-forgetting about parts of the traumatic event or not be able to talk about them.

-thinking the world is completely dangerous, and no one can be trusted.

-always alert and on the lookout for danger.

-suddenly becoming angry or irritable.

This is known as hyperarousal. For example:

-having a hard time sleeping.

-trouble concentrating.

-startled by a loud noise or surprise.

North shut the book with a loud slam. Jack was practically screaming in North's face. Standing, he placed the book back on the shelf.

Outside the door he heard laughter and the patter of small footsteps. Opening the door he saw a the skinny hooded boy laughing as the elves ran around, crashing into each other.

"North!" The boy grinned. "How are ya'?"

"I am..." North tried to find a word to describe his feelings. But he couldn't. "I found your Christmas present."

Jack grinned, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Did you like it? I got it ages ago, just to practice reading you know and-"

He was cut off at the bug man lunged forward and wrapped Jack in a tight hug. For a moment Jack fought but then dissolved into the embrace.

"I am so sorry," North apologized.

"It's alright," Jack choked. "I'm alright."

"No you're not. And you probably never will be," North held the child at arms length. "But I will be here for you."

Jack smiled, "thanks," tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. "Thanks." North smiled back gently.

Jack would never be alone again, not if north had anything to say about it. Never again.

**Random ficlet that sprung into being in my head. Hope you enjoyed. This is just a one shot. **

**R&R!**


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